Posts Tagged ‘Croft St.’

While meandering down Croft Street today I discovered a new mural by Bruno Smoky on a garage. A large reddish face of a man – Neptune, the God of the Sea? It also makes me think of the book, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.

It’s after Labour Day but it’s still hot enough to be July. I tried to walk for a while today but I didn’t last. Air conditioning is my best friend this afternoon. But all was not lost. Even though I was only out for a short time, I walked along Croft Street and discovered that the south end (south of Vankoughnet) has been cleaned up and repainted. If you don’t know Croft Street, it’s a street in name only. It’s more like an alley in that it’s narrow with a lot of garages on it….but it’s also a lane that now has a number of residences on it. I guess you could call it a hybrid, a little bit alley and a little bit street.

What I really like about the street art here is that there is a cohesiveness to it. It’s not all the same but it all works together. Do I dare call it designer street art?

below: A couple of murals that existed previously were left untouched. On the left an oldie and on the right a new coat of paint.

below: As well as a bright and cheerful coat of paint (and the occasional white wall!), the lane has been decorated with planters made of cement blocks and old plastic barrels.

The south end of Croft Street is at College Street. There once was a mural on a wall at the corner of Croft and College that commemorated the fire of 1904. Almost three years ago I blogged about it. (3 years!) John Croft died in that fire and it was for him that the street was named. Anyhow, that mural is still there although it’s been hidden behind someone’s ugly tagging for more than a year. Today it is also behind scaffolding.

below: Part of the John Croft mural that no longer exists.

And now, because life (or, my life) is rarely linear, I’m going to jump around and look at the other end of Croft Street. North of Vankoughnet there seemed to be an animal theme in street art that I saw.

below: birdo bunny with his ears at attention.

below: The memorial to Monty the cat is still there, again for at least 3 years, but now it’s someone’s little patio. In case you are unfamiliar with this wall I have added a transcription of the poem written in Monty’s honour.

Did you know our Monty the cat?
King of Croft and all that
(Ask your dog. Ask your cat)
Did you give him a pet
Once you had met?
Or tickle his soft silken tum tum?
Did he tell you his tale in articulate meow
And share his affection with a rub of his brow?
His loss here has left us really quite blue
But remembering all of those of YOU
Who knew how to share a sweet kindness true
Who would pause on the way,
In midst of each day,
To offer wee beastie
affectionate feastie
In Memory of Monty
Thank you!

below: Unicorns vs Monsters. And the winner is?

below: Three cows standing in a field…. on a wall.

below: No animal here…. but it must have been here recently and left its paw prints behind.

below: An angular fox, or rather a triangular fox

below: More animals but I’m not sure if it’s art, or if someone has a lot of watering cans they’re trying to keep organized. The bottom yellow one is probably not a pokemon, right? Of course I could be missing something – it wouldn’t be the first time!

below: Leaving the animal theme behind, mind over matter.

below: 74B likes grids. The metal stripping on the brown door has been there for at leasat three years but the coloured stripes on the garage are more recent.

below: All stories and all blog posts need an ending so I’ll stop here. The end.

On the 19th of April, 1904, a large section of downtown Toronto burned for nine hours.

Map showing the area of Toronto affected by the fire of 1904. Bay Street from the Esplanade to Miranda Street (just south of King Street) was the hardest hit. At the time, this was called the Wholesale District of the city.

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Aftermath, Bay street, April 1904.

In part, because the fire started in the evening, there were no fatalities. As a result of the fire, 5000 people were left without a job. In 1904, the population of Toronto was about 200,000 so the loss of employment on this scale had an impact on the city.

Mural painted on the back of the building on the northwest corner of College St. and Croft St. (398 College St.), commemorating the fire of 1904.

Demolition of the ruins left by the fire took many weeks. On the 4th of May, John Croft died while using dynomite to bring down the remains of the W.J. Gage building on Front Street. His was the only known death associated with the fire. What is now Croft Street was renamed in his honour.

The east side of 398 College St., at the south end of Croft St., is painted with a mural as a memorial to John Croft.

northeast corner of the building

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Burned out buildings, April 1904

The images of the fire’s aftermath are available online. The originals are kept at the City of Toronto Archives, located on Spadina Road., just north of Dupont Street.

It runs between Harbord Street and College Street, just west of Bathurst Street. Although there are many different interesting things to be seen when you walk along this street, I have chosen to focus on the street art for this blog post. The following is a selection of what I saw.

surveying the scene

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a closer look

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paint and rust

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can’t sleep so I write

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Harbord street sign

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Did you know our Monty the cat?King of Croft and all that(Ask your dog. Ask your cat)Did you give him a petOnce you had met?Or tickle his soft silken tum tum?Did he tell you his tale in articulate meowAnd share his affection with a rub of his brow?His loss here has left us really quite blueBut remembering all of those of YOUWho knew how to share a sweet kindness trueWho would pause on the way,In midst of each day,To offer wee beastieaffectionate feastieIn Memory of MontyThank you!

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painted cat on painted window sill on painted brick wall

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on the streets of Toronto

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hidden doorway

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tutti frutti

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with hands on hips and with added words

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art at the front door

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greenery

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black and white and red all over

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Here I stand in silencebut the patter of the rainwho I was, you’ll never know;my triumph